Under the Stars
by Bit Star
Summary: Lizzie is controlling Nigel's life, but when Kuki falls sick, Nigel has to find the courage to deal with Lizzie once and for all. Re-formatted for easier reading.
1. Conflict, the Irresolute

The Truth Comes Out: The Reality Behind "Under the Stars"

Many have assumed, in the past, that this story was meant exclusively to bash the character of Lizzie, and to set up my favored pairing of Nigel and Kuki.  
Well, there's more to it than that.  
In fact, that isn't it at all.  
You see, this story was written following the aftermath of a particularly destructive relationship I went through. Nigel, in this story, is entirely analogous to myself. Every feeling he feels, I myself felt. The anger, the helplessness, the depression, all of it. His utter submission to Lizzie also has a real life correspondance. The only difference between him and me is that my retribution was far more subtle and personal in comparison to Nigel's grand and heroic victory.  
By the same token, Lizzie's actions are all based on something (or comparable to something) my real-life girlfriend actually did, though often the true story is far different (my girlfriend actually did try to shoot someone, but this was long before she even knew me, so I wasn't involved personally.  
Don't feel too sorry for me. I, like Nigel, ended up ultimately dealing with her and the pain she caused (though again, in a far less grandoise fashion). And I, like Nigel, eventually found someone else, someone better.  
If this were a straight Kids Next Door fanfic with specific aims, as it has so often been accused of being, then I would agree with critics that the plot is absurd or that Lizzie's character is taken wildly out of proportion. But this story is not so much a Codename: Kids Next Door fanfic as it is a drama inspired by actual events that just happens to use Codename: Kids Next Door characters in place of real people. I wrote this fanfic primarily as a way of dealing with my own feelings, not for any other purpose. Remember this as you read onward.

Part One: Conflict, the Irresolute

The ground shook violently, causing the five young operatives to lose their balance and fall, though being outdoors they landed on safe grass, thankful for the cover from trees and a nearby haystack as brick and mortar went flying. Numbuh One looked up, ducked again just in time to dodge a plank of wood, and risked another glance. Above him was the latest in a long line of Superchairs developed by Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb, the Chair-O-Tron 0079 With Four Wheel Drive.

Nigel slapped himself, disgustedly saying "Not another blasted robot..."

"Shut up!" Yelled Mr. Fibb, "We wouldn't of had to use this if you would just give me back my super-advanced hair tonic!"

"Oh get real," Nigel responded, "We know this is really some sort of poison that you intend to force on every child in the vicinity! Why should we"

"NIIIIIIIIIIIIGELLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

That shrill scream could only have come from one mouth, a mouth Nigel was all too familiar with as he nervously turned, half-knowing who he would see, half-loving and half-dreading.

"L-L-L-Lizzie!" He stammered. "What a surprise!"

"Can it!" She demanded, marching angrilly across the road, not bothering to look both ways and lucky that both the cars (neither of which she had seen) had stopped just short of hitting her. "You were supposed to go on a date with me today, thirty minutes ago! Where were you?"

"Lizzie, I'm on a mission!"

"You're always on a mission!" She yelled. "Every time we're supposed to be on a date, you're always saying you're on a mission, and if it's not that, it's that you're working on something, and if it's not thatGrrrr... the point is Nigel, that there's no way you could seriously be as busy as you expect me to believe!"

Upon hearing this, his fellow operatives became angered, and some nearly attacked her, but Nigel raised his hand to stay theirs. "You know, you're right... it's not like I have a mission every day... and I guess Mr. Fibb's hair tonic isn't such a big deal." With that, much to everyone's dismay, Nigel pulled said tonic out of his pocket and tossed it back to Mr. Fibb.

"Thank you," said the Walrusoid one, before the chair shrank into obscurity behind the wall of the now-unroofed building.

"So, where did you say we were going?" Nigel asked, grabbing Lizzie's arm as the two began walking back across the street, causing even more cars to stop suddenly, and leaving four confused and irritated operatives standing on the former grounds of battle.

The supposed "Date" itself had really been quite meagerin fact, the only thing they had done was gone to a nearby restaurant for a bite to eat. They had enjoyed themselves and the restaurant's music (not to mention it's food) but all things had to end. This did. Then they recieved the check.

"Oh my," Nigel said with an obvious note of dismay. "I never knew quite how expensive this place was." Though I probably should, I've been here dozens of times. And I eat so little, too. These thoughts he blocked out of his mind as soon as he saw Lizzie make a motion.

"It's all right," she said, "My dad gave me his credit card and"

"No, I'll put this on the Kids Next Door account." with this, he grabbed the bill and the two went to the front, where Nigel handed over his KND charge card. The cashier ran it through the scanner, then handed the object back, nodding that Nigel had payed his dues and was cleared to go. Thus, grabbing Lizzie's offered hand, the two left and enjoyed a walk down the lane in the fresh afternoon air, on a beautiful, sunny day.

Just as Nigel was eyeballing a cloud that looked strangely like a Jellyfish, Lizzie broke the thoughtful silence by asking "What do you think of my outfit today, Nigel?"

"Huh?" He looked. In truth, he had not even payed attention to her outfit because she had worn the same yellow shirt and blue skirt combination that she must have multiple pairs of at home. She should really wear something that doesn't show off her flaws so readily, he thought, before realizing his thoughts with a shock. What am I thinking? Am I so shallow that I judge women solely by their looks? Heavens no! "You look great as usual, Lizzie!" He finally answered, much to the redhead's pleasure.

"Oh Nigey..."

Finally however, Nigel dropped Lizzie off back home, and then made his way back home, feeling great!... or did he? Somehow, as soon as he began climbing the ladder, his thoughts darkened once more. For some reason, he found himself being annoyed. Annoyed that the KND dragged him away from Lizzie, annoyed at having to go on missions. Annoyed at the inevitable pestering he would recieve. Annoyed that the restaurant had been so expensive.

Annoyed that as soon as he opened the door, a young Asian was in his face, yelling "Hiiii!"

"Gah!" he watched her happily back off. "Numbuh Three, can't you ever greet me in a normal fashion!"

"Well," her attitude became quite smarmy as she smirked at him and waved a sleeved finger, "You should know before you go in that the others, particularly Numbuh Five, are quite upset with you right now. They weren't too happy with the way you walked out on them in the middle of a mission."

"Psh, it figures." Nigel let his arm slumped as he looked angrily towards the ground. Kuki softly giggled off to his side, causing him to glance at her. "And what about you? Aren't you going to #& at me too?"

This stopped the giggle, and Kuki looked at him in pure, utter shock. Only then did he realize what he had said.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to put it like that."

And then her gave softened, and in fact turned almost sympathetic. "Why are you upset? Did... Did Lizzie...?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just the price of the restaurants she takes me to, that's all."

Kuki's face instantly came alight with smiles, and she said "Oh is that all?" she giggled a bit more, then asked "Still on for the movie tonight?"

"What?"

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. You said you wanted to show it to me today."

"Oh that's right!" He clapped his hands together. This was perfect, watching his favorite movie is just the thing he needs to clear out this residual anger! But first he needed to clear up something. "All right, I'm still on for it. But first I need to talk to Numbuh Five. She's in her room, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay, wait right here."

Nigel patted her shoulder and then began walking towards Abby's area of residence as Kuki took a seat on the sofa.

As the door slid open, Nigel began to wonder if going into her room wasn't a mistake. Besides being where Abby sleeps, the room was also a general hang-out, and certainly the most attractive room in the whole house. It had a very old-time charm about it, and served as a place for the five of them to share discussions over such important topics as "Is it morally right to bite the heads off of chocolate bunnies?" or "Who'se better, Indiana Jones or Harry Potter?"

The moment Nigel walked into view, the discussion stopped as all eyes were on him. Abby was the last to see him, her back being to him, but she turned and looked when the silence came. With an angry look she began, "Well well well, if it ain't lover-boy..."

"Look guys, I'm sorry about what happened today, but"

"But nothin'!" Abby stood abruptly. "You abandoned the mission!"

"Okay okay, I know! I was wrong! Geez, I said I was sorry! Anyway, it was a first-time offense!"

And at that, Abby looked him in the eye suspiciously. "So you ain't gonna pull that little numbuh again?"

Nigel sighed. "I promise it won't happen again! I won't abandon missions in favor of Lizzie. All right?"

"That a promise?"

Nigel sighed. "Yes!"

"All right."

And the two looked at each other, Abby with distrust, Nigel with irritation, until finally Nigel got fed up with it and left the room without another word.

Kuki watched with concern as an irritated Nigel came out of Abby's room, and tried to pull on his hair before his hands gripped and remembered that he didn't have any hair, so he simply plopped himself down next to Kuki and let out a breath that sounded more like a grunt. His eyes were closed in contemplation, but his mouth held a scowl.

Kuki thought she understood, and in her naivette, hugged him.

He opened his eyes in surprise. Seeing this, he let out a sigh and reached his arm around to pat her shoulder. Then a memory burst into his brain. "Oh," he stated as he stood, "I almost forgot. Wait here a moment."

This time he left to his room and returned with his tape of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

The two had sat and watched in almost total silence, up until the dogfight between the Enterprise and the Klingon ship, at which point a door slid open, and the three in Abby's room went to their own rooms, save for Abby herself, who watched the other two boys leave and then looked towards the sofa, seeing Kuki and Nigel totally caught up in the movie. Quietly she took her place next to the two of them, but decided to join in as the tranquility was really too good to interrupt.

It wasn't until the credits rolled that Abby said anything.

"Look man, I'm sorry about"

"Save it." He held up his hand. "You were right. I shouldn't have dumped the mission like that. Next time I'll try to make Lizzie understand that you can't just go on dates all the time."

At that Abby smiled, and said no more. Nigel turned his attention towards Numbuh Three. "So what did you think?"

"It was great!" she exclaimed. "Let's watch it again!"

"No thanks." Nigel smiled as he took off and cleaned his shades with his shirt. "I make it a rule never to watch the same movie twice in a row."

She giggled, for both knew that she wasn't being serious. Then, confirming her goodwill, she once more hugged him, and he once more patted her on the shoulder.

To be continued... 


	2. Conflict, the Oncoming

-------Part Two: Conflict, the Oncoming  
  
Three days later, it was Saturday. Saturday means weekends, and weekends mean weekend vacations for KND Operatives. But unfortunately, this break was already beset with trouble when Kuki Sanban woke up sweating. "Ooooo, I feel so hot!" she said to herself as she took off her nightclothing and took a morning shower. The heat she felt was such that she felt compelled to make her usually warm shower slightly less warm, and when it came time to re-dress, she chose to not wear one of her trademark sweaters.  
  
It was this fact which caught Numbuh Five's attention as she made pancakes, upon seeing Numbuh Three enter the kitchen. "No sweater today?" The dark-skinned one asked. "It's kinda chilly in here thanks to the air conditioner."  
  
"Oh, that's okay. It doesn't bother me."  
  
"You sure? I mean, ya know about your sensitivities." Yes, it was a fact that Abby knew well--Kuki wore her sweater because she had extreme sensitivity to chill. She had come down with a cold shortly following their ice cream operation, after which the Asian had promised she would always wear her sweater when in Ice Cream factories.  
  
"It's okay. I feel really hot today for some reason."  
  
Kuki was a bit startled that this comment was answered with a hand placed on her forehead. After a moment, Abby pulled her hand away, commenting "Girl, you burnin' up!"  
  
As Abby walked towards the refridgerator, Kuki felt her own head. Yes, it felt slightly warm, but she failed to find anything unusual about it... but this line of thought was interrupted when Abby placed a cup of water in front of her. Abby didn't bother to explain as she continued flipping pancakes, but a drink was a drink, and Kuki guzzled it up... and was surprised at how quickly she had emptied the cup.  
  
It was just now that she seemed to notice a dry sensation inside her mouth, in answer to which she got up and refilled her cup, drank it, and refilled it again and again. Never once did Abby stop her, but soon Nigel came into the room, still slightly drowsy, but wondering all the same "Hey Numbuh Three, why are you drinking so much water?"  
  
"She's got a fever," Abby quickly explained. "She's probably dehydrated."  
  
"Oh." Nigel was somewhat on the ignorant side as he sat down at the table, undisturbed. Being ten years old and furthermore unenlightened, he believed merely that fever was just when the body gets hot and that it would eventually get cold again.  
  
Finally, Kuki guzzled one last cup of water, and sat back down just as the rest of the team arrived.  
  
"Oh, hey Numbuh Two," Abby called, "Can ya watch these pancakes for me?"  
  
"Umm, sure," he responded as she handed him the spatula, and then left the room. He flipped a pancake or two, wondering if they were done yet, but just as he was about to give into the urge to devour a piece of one Abby re-entered the room and stuck a thermometer in Kuki's mouth. "Hold it under yo' tongue." She commanded as she retrieved the spatula. Within moments, she turned off the stove and began setting out plates with Hoagie's help, checking the thermometer as she did so.  
  
The boys were about willing to start helping themselves, except that as Wallabee walked by, he noticed an extremely disturbed look on Numbuh Five's face. "Hey, Numbuh Five? Somethin' wrong? Numbuh Three sick or somethin'?"  
  
Immediately Numbuh Five handed him the thermometer, and left. He looked and read it aloud. "Wow. 105.3. I wonder if that's bad?"  
  
------------  
  
Abby waited patiently, holding the Uno's phone as she listened to the ring. Finally, someone on the other end picked up. "Yo, Dad, is mom there? Okay." Silence, and then "Hey Mom, I need ta ask you somethin' medical. My friend Kuki... well, this mornin' she came into the kitchen wearin' just normal light clothin', and well, you know how sensitive to cold she is. It was freezin' in there! But next thing she starts guzzlin up tons of water. I think she downed at least twenty cups, give or take. Anyway, I took her temperature just now. She ran 105.3. So I was--huh?" Abby listened in silence as her mom began talking. "Okay, I understand. Justaminute." Abby put the phone on the table, but didn't hang it up, instead she got up just as Mrs. Uno came into the room. "Oh, I was jus' about to look for you. Do you got any Tylenol or any other kinda fever-reducin' medicine?"  
  
"Yes. Just a minute, I'll go find it."  
  
"Thanks." With that, Abby sat back down and picked up the phone again. "They got some, they're gettin' it for me. Yea. Okay. I'll tell ya if it gets any worse. Thanks Mom. Bye." With that Abby hung up.  
  
------------  
  
Soon she was back up, and saw that all but two of the pancakes had been eaten. Even Numbuh Three had (as evidenced by the syrup on her lips) participated in the devouring.  
  
"What did your mom say?" Nigel asked upon seeing her.  
  
"Basically that she's gonna have to avoid soda for today and that she's gotta try to cool down. Besides that, if fever is all she's got, then she's fine."  
  
"What do you mean, 'if fever is all she's got'?" Wallabee questioned.  
  
"Eh, I'll tell ya'll later." She quickly explained, for the additional symptoms she was to watch out for were ones that shouldn't really be discussed around people who were eating. She waited until they were off her mind, and then got herself the last of the pancakes even as the others were leaving.  
  
"Up for another movie tonight, Nigel?" Kuki asked as she and Nigel left the room.  
  
"Sure, just name it."  
  
"Oh, I got the perfect one!" She skipped and clapped happily, "It's called.... ooooooo..."  
  
"That's the oddest title I've ever--" He began, until she grasped his shoulder. He looked down, and saw that she was holding her head and, seemingly, having momentary trouble staying on her feet. "Is something wrong?" He asked even as he looked towards Abby, suspecting she might have an answer.  
  
As Abby came over, she told him "Fever delirium. Don't worry man, it's nothin' to worry--"  
  
"NIIIIIIIIIIIGEEEEEEEEEEY!"  
  
Nigel looked to the door in shock. Odd, I was sure I didn't have any commitments today, his brain thought as he rushed out the door and looked down, seeing Lizzie on his front lawn. "Good morning Lizzie!" He began humbly and nervously, wondering what he had done wrong this time.  
  
She stomped her foot, "Nigel, did you forget about our date again?"  
  
"What date?" Nigel questioned.  
  
"We were going to go to the grand opening of Wheelo's Skating Rink, don't you remember?"  
  
For some reason, Nigel couldn't, but he laughed nervously and ducked back into the treehouse, yelling "Right, be right down!" On his way to his room, he took a glance at Numbuh Three, and told her "Get well soon!" just before ducking into his room to search for his skates. It took awhile of digging, but he finally found them... and was surprised at how dirty they were, like he hadn't used them since he got them. Still, they fit his feet, so there was nothing to complain about.  
  
Soon he was down and out on the lawn, and holding Lizzie's hand on the way to Wheelo's.  
  
-------------  
  
The Skating Rink was bustling with activity--as all good Skating Rinks are on weekends--and this temporarily dismayed Nigel Uno once he saw it. While some of the people there looked fine, many sported punk hairdos and leather jackets and other such fashions that discomforted the bald one. Worse, he noted that most of the participants here were teenagers--there were few kids to be seen.  
  
Lizzie, however, was unperturbed. In fact, she was ecstatic as she jumped for joy and very nearly ran right into the building, not even waiting for Nigel to pay the entrance fee. Nigel, his fears repressed, grabbed Lizzie's hand, and proceeded to hand over his KND charge card, and waited as the cashier ran it through the scanner.  
  
Multiple times.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Nigel asked, worried.  
  
The Cashier handed the charge card back, and said "I'm sorry sir, but it looks like this card is invalid."  
  
"Invalid! That's--"  
  
"--That's just the way it is. You'll have to pay in cash."  
  
With a grumble, Nigel reached for his wallet, and counted up his allowance... yes, he had enough. So he ponied up the money, pocketed his wallet once more, and the two lovers went in, put on their skates...  
  
...And then entered the skating grounds, where Nigel proceeded to fall down.  
  
Lizzie turned and looked in surprise. "Is something wrong, Nigey?"  
  
"I... I just remembered..." he slowly got up, and whispered to her "I... don't really know how to skate."  
  
The two looked at each other for a long, silent moment (silent save for the hustle and bustle in the background), and finally Lizzie gave him a skeptical look. "You can't skate?"  
  
"No." he squeaked.  
  
"Dear God, Nigel, you're embarrassing me!" She exclaimed, pulling upon her pigtails until finally she turned from him, and simply began skating on her own. He stood, empty, with a feeling of rejection, until some teenagers bumped into him and knocked him back to the floor, rushing by without even bothering to apologize.  
  
Disgusted, he got back up, and left the ring, but not the building. He looked aside, and saw some video arcade machines. They were all older titles--probably ones the owners had gotten cheap from the old skating rink that used to be in this exact same spot. Nigel walked over to one, and read the title. Galaga. That old game, Nigel thought. Well, at least it'll kill some time. Finding change, he slipped in a quarter, and very soon, his feelings were forgotten as he became consumed with nothing more than the desire to blast every remaining alien spaceship to bits...  
  
"Nigey!" Came Lizzie's screeching voice from his right, "You should be skating with me, not playing stupid video games!" She glanced at the screen, "Yuck. How can you play crud like this?!"  
  
"I dunno, I find it pretty fun."  
  
Holding back another look of disgust, Lizzie stated "This place is boring. Let's go see a movie."  
  
"But we've only been here for five minutes!" He complained, at first quite strongly, but there was something about the way she glared at him that made him feel small, unimportant, like none of his complaints mattered. Good little dog, just do what your master says... "On the other hand, it is a little dull in here. Maybe we should leave."  
  
Lizzie smiled, and once more offered him her hand. All was happy as the two took off their skates and left the building.  
  
"So, what do you want to see? Oh, I know! The latest Star Trek movie just came out--"  
  
"--I hate Star Trek, remember?" she said with a look of contempt and boredom on her face. She never understood Nigel's fascination with those stupid movies and had told him so before.  
  
"Oh? Ummm... well, maybe the newest Jackie Chan--"  
  
"I hate that stupid Kung Fu stuff."  
  
Nigel stopped in shock for a moment. He happened to admire some of those movies quite greatly. He would spend hours in his room just trying to imitate the stunts and techniques performed... but there was no way he was going to admit it now. His girlfriend thought he was neat, what would she think if she knew he played make-believe with Hong Kong action movies? "So, umm, what do you want to see then?"  
  
As Lizzie neared the theatre, she eyeballed the "Now Playing" sign... and saw the one movie she most wanted to see in the whole wide world...  
  
"Oh my God, Nigel! Look at what's playing! They made a new Happy Place movie!"  
  
"Huh?!" This was a movie that Nigel had never heard of. The sign read Happy Place 4: Through the Jungles of Love, and depicted CGI-Rendered pink things with big grins and girly outfits. Oh my god, a baby-movie.  
  
"Let's go see that one Nigey!" Lizzie cuddled his arm. "Please? Pretty please?"  
  
At first Nigel was ready to argue--no way was he going to sit through another baby movie that looked even dumber than Rainbow Monkeys!...  
  
Rainbow Monkeys... that's right. If he could sit through this kind of garbage with Kuki Sanban, then surely he can do it for his girlfriend. So Nigel took a deep breath, and walked to the ticket counter. "Two for..." he gritted his teeth, "Happy Place 4."  
  
"You're goin' to see that?!"  
  
Nigel looked. Within his eyesight, he saw a familiar face. It was Jerry Red, a boy from school that Nigel occasionally spoke to but usually didn't hang out with. They had a mostly teasing relationship. Jerry had also brought two friends, explaining "Man, we're goin' to see Big Action in Hong Kong, the latest action flick. That's a man's movie!"  
  
Before Nigel could explain, Lizzie butted in. "Cool it jerks! My man Nigel can see whatever movie he wants!" Grabbing the tickets, she grabbed Nigel's arm, and began pulling him into the theatre, but stopped as she heard a comment pass her ears.  
  
"Man, where did Nigel pick up that tub of lard?"  
  
With that, she turned and glared angrily... and then lounged onto Jerry, who fell under the shock, and furthermore nearly passed out from the weight of Lizzie's entire body having fallen upon his stomach. But this didn't stop Lizzie, who proceeded to pound his face multiple times, until finally Nigel, with the help of Jerry's two friends, managed to pull her off.  
  
"Is he all right?" Nigel asked in wild concern.  
  
But in response, one of Jerry's friends looked up at him with a scowl. "Man, you're girl is a psychopath!"  
  
Lizzie was about to start another fight, but Nigel managed to pull her inside the theatre at the last moment. And when he did so, he was sent to the floor with one of the hardest smacks he's ever felt. He got up, still reeling from the blow, holding the struck cheek in his hand... and pulling his hand back to see that he had in fact been bleeding. The sight almost made him sick, but he quickly looked up at Lizzie, who looked down upon him with another angered expression.  
  
"Lizzie, wh-wh-why?"  
  
"Nigey, men are supposed to stick up for their girlfriends! Next time, be a man!"  
  
"Lizzie, he was just kidding! Besides, he's one of my friends!"  
  
"Not anymore he isn't! Come on, let's get some napkins or something."  
  
An hour into the movie, Nigel wasn't feeling anything in his cheek anymore. He was now holding a paper towel to it simply out of habit. Suddenly, he heard a ringing in his ears which he at first attributed to his imagination, but then he listened closer. Oh, a message, he thought, remembering the KND-Super-Duper-Secret-Hidden-In-The-Ear communications device.  
  
"I have to go to the bathroom." He informed Lizzie in whisper, "I'll be right back." She nodded a confirmation, and he was off, but soon he found that the bathroom wasn't necessary--the hallway leading to the seats was private enough. "Come in," he stated as he tapped something in his ear.  
  
"Numbuh One," it was Abby's voice, "Just wanted you to know that Numbuh Three has gotten worse. Mom's sayin' she might have to stay overnight."  
  
"Worse? How does a fever get worse?!"  
  
"Well... that's kinda weird. You see it didn't raise any... but she keeps screamin' in pain. She's gone into a total delirium, and..." Abby became silent for a moment.  
  
"Is there somethin' else?"  
  
"Yea... she passed out and went to sleep once. Mom told me that the whole time, she kept callin' for you."  
  
"For me?!"  
  
"Yea." As if to relieve the tension, Abby forced a laugh and said "You shoulda seen the look on Wallabee's face!... but yea, I think you should see her. How's your date with Lizzie goin'?"  
  
"Horrible," he found himself involuntarily confessing without first considering his words, such was the tensity of emotion he was feeling that he couldn't find it in himself to lie. "Abby, you should've seen her! You know Jerry Red, from School? Well, she actually attacked him! Pinned him down and bloodied up his face. Then she attacked me for trying to stop the fight!"  
  
And then there was silence, and in this silence, Nigel realized what he had confessed. For some unknown reason, the thought terrified him, and for some unknown reason, he felt compelled to lie once more. "Ha ha, just kidding! Fooled you, didn't I?"  
  
Somehow, Abby's own tone seemed darker as she said "I'm signin' off now."  
  
"All right. When I get back we'll go visit Numbuh Three."  
  
"Your mom was gonna leave sometime in the next thirty minutes. I hope your date ends soon." with that, there was a distinctive click, and Abby signed off.  
  
Nigel stood in silence for a moment, his mind totally shot by not only the news, but the events surrounding it. Damn, and here I am stuck in the middle of a date... I guess I could leave early. I'll explain it all later. Lizzie'll understand. He looked back down the hallway, towards the screen, and then towards the door to his left. This path he chose.  
  
Walking out into the front room of the Theatre, he went for the door... and then his eye was caught on something off to the side. The theatre was host to one of those crane games that seemed to be everywhere. Nigel checked his watch. Thirty minutes, she had said. This theatre was so close to his house that he'd definitely have time to get home--it was only a fifteen-minute walk. He looked at the crane machine once more, and then into his wallet. For a moment, he was dismayed when he saw he had only one dollar remaining, the last of his allowance. But maybe a new toy will help Kuki feel better.  
  
He walked to the machine, looking it over, calculating what toys he could win for her, and committed himself to taking chances when he inserted his dollar into the slot.  
  
The device started, the crane centered itself, and then relinquished control over to Nigel. He grabbed the stick, calculating. Just south of where the Crane was, he saw a purple monkey-like thing which seemed cute, as well as easy to get. Perfect, he grinned as he made for it and, once positioned, pressed the button. Down went the crane... but it came up with nothing.  
  
Drat! Just a little off. No matter, I get a second try. With that, the crane once more centered itself, and Nigel took his second shot. This time, he looked from the front as well as the sides to make sure the position was precise... and then pressed the button.  
  
Failure. Or so he thought, but gradually his thoughts elated as he saw that the crane had made the snag! The purple monkey-thing was in it's clutches. Nigel watched with tension as the thing jiggled all the way to the drop-off point, fearing that it would fall and be lost any moment... and then, down the tube it went! Victory was his!  
  
With a huge grin on his face, Nigel reached into the prize box and grabbed the monkey. "She'll like this!" Nigel exclaimed.  
  
"For me?! Oh, you shouldn't have!"  
  
"Huh?" Nigel looked aside, then back down when the monkey was whisked out of his arms in the blink of an eye, and right into Lizzie's.  
  
"Oh, it's soo cute! I will treasure it always!" Lizzie hugged it with closed eyes and a smile that seemed somehow to lack true warmth. Then she looked at Nigel with the same mockingly sweet look. "So what do you want to do now?"  
  
"What happened to the movie?"  
  
"Oh, it got boring. They always do. I like them at first, but they always get boring near the end, so I leave early." With that, she yawned.  
  
"Actually, Lizzie... it's getting late, and one of my friends is sick, so I need to head home. See you!" With that, he began to run.  
  
"Now wait just a minute!" Lizzie demanded. "What kind of way is that to end a date? Just run off without taking me home first?" She didn't bother to comment on the time--it wasn't really very late at all. In fact it wasn't even Noon yet. But she, too, was getting bored with this date... they just seemed to lack the magic they once had. The last time she had been seriously impressed with Nigel was when he and her turned out to like the same flavor of ice cream. Ever since then.. well, Lizzie had found that Nigel seemed to be dorkier and dorkier each passing day. There was something she liked about him, but it was gradually fading. But, as they say, the grass is always greener...  
  
"Lizzie, I'd like to walk you home, but Numbuh Three's sick and she's in the hospital and--"  
  
"What's she sick with?"  
  
"A fever, and--"  
  
"A fever? Ha! Fevers cool down Nigey."  
  
"But she became delirious and passed out and--"  
  
"She'll be fine!" Lizzie stated, almost demanding Nigel to agree with her.  
  
And Nigel's mind was in such a confused state, that at this statement he felt too bewildered to argue. Abby had certainly made it sound serious, but that was Abby... Lizzie was right, it was only a fever. So he smiled, and offered her his hand. 


	3. Conflict, the Expanding

---------Part Three: Conflict, The Expanding  
  
Kuki opened her eyes, and woke up with a scream. Soon, hands were on her, holding her down, silencing her, and for a moment she thought demons had come to drag her into a deep, dark place where she would rather not go.  
  
But suddenly a voice broke through, saying "Calm down girl, calm down. Calm down..."  
  
Kuki stopped screaming, and looked around in agitated fear. As she did so, the delusion began to melt away, revealing that demons were really doctors, and fiends were really friends. And the one who had said "Calm down" was, of course, Numbuh Five. And upon being free of the nightmare, Kuki smiled and layed back down. Slowly she turned her bright and smiling face towards Numbuh Five, who smiled back.  
  
"You had us worried there, girl," Numbuh Five stated.  
  
"Yea, that was one heck of a nightmare." Hoagie commented. "You kept saying 'she's gonna kill him' and calling for Numbuh One. What's up with that?"  
  
Kuki's smile faded, remembering her dream. "It was awful... Lizzie and Numbuh One got into a fight, and Lizzie grabbed a shotgun and..."  
  
"Whoa, chill girl. It's just a dream." Abby reassured her. "Lizzie wouldn't do a thing like that!"  
  
And once more, the young, bedridden Asian smiled. "You're right. I'm being silly."  
  
"Yea," Wallabee agreed with a pose, "If Kissy Lizzie tried to kill Numbuh One, I'd give her a--" Numbuh Five held up her hand, causing Numbuh Four to realize that hospitals were really no place to get cocky. He let his arms fall and went back to just standing normally, watchful and protective of Numbuh Three.  
  
The doctor, who had heretofore been silent, now spoke. "Well little lady, you gave us all a bit of a jolt. You were sweating profusely and were talking in your sleep. Your friends say you just passed out in the middle of physical activity. But... by the looks of things, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong or unusual about you."  
  
Kuki blinked. "Really?"  
  
"All our tests indicate nothing more than your average fever. It's dropped by 1.5 degrees since you got here, but it's still present. Unless there are further developments, however, we may not need to hold you longer than a few hours like we thought originally."  
  
All faces were smiles at that statement, as Kuki well noted as she looked around the room... only to have hers fade when she noticed one missing feature.  
  
"Where's Numbuh One?"  
  
"He got held up." Abby answered her. "He'll be up later."  
  
"I see." Kuki regained her smile as she snuggled into the pillow, though it wasn't as wide as it could've been.  
  
"I'll be right back," Abby quickly explained before leaving the room. Once she did, she looked both ways in the hallway, and searched out a girl's restroom. Finding one, she entered and explored it, finding it to be generally empty. Then she reached for her ear.  
  
"Numbuh One here," went a voice coming from the super-secret communications device.  
  
"Yo' man, where are you?"  
  
"I'm at home right now. Sorry I got home a few minutes late... thing is..."  
  
"Thing is I bet that Lizzie held you up again!"  
  
Nigel was silent for a moment, but when he came back it was almost spastic, "No no! She's not to blame for this, I am! I shouldn't have offered to take her on a date if--"  
  
"If you knew somethin' like this was gonna happen?" Abby asked harshly, hoping Nigel realized how rediculous the assertion sounded.  
  
-----------  
  
And as it happened, Nigel did, responding with "Well, you've got a point, I didn't know she was going to get this sick. But... but still--"  
  
"Furthermore, Nigel Uno," Went the accusing voice of his friend Abigail across the wavelengths, "It's time I levelled with you--That girl's doin' nothin' but tryin' to dominate your life!"  
  
"Abby! How can you say such a thing?!"  
  
"How can I... Man, face reality sometime. She keeps you from visitin' friends in the hospital, she makes you give up missions, she makes up dates and says they were appointments--"  
  
"--They were! I just forgot, that's all!"  
  
"Every time?"  
  
"Yes, Every time! Look, me and Lizzie are happy together. Why I remember our first date--"  
  
"--So do I. Remember the boyfriend helmet?"  
  
And then there was a harsh, bitter silence.  
  
"By the way," Abby stated matter-of-factly, "There's a message for you from the higher-ups laying on your bed. For your sake I hope you get your act together." With that, the communications went silent following a distinctive sign-off click.  
  
Nigel punched a cushion, revealing his anger. How dare Numbuh Five say something like that! She was just jealous, that's all... or was she? Nigel's mind began to think. After all, Numbuh Five's never shown any interest in you before, has she? And she was right about the boyfriend helmet... No! Nigel shook his head. Lizzie's done nothing wrong! I'm the one to blame! She's right, I let her get pushed around and insulted when I should be sticking up for her, I'm always late for dates, I'm.. Lizzie's an angel! The very thought that she's the cause of my suffering is unimagineable!  
  
And suddenly the anger dispersed, which gave Numbuh One the impression that he was right. Returning to perfect sanity, he looked down his arm and into the deep indentation in the sofa cushion, and retracted his arm. Standing up, he scanned his memory. Didn't Numbuh Five say something else, something about a message? Oh yes, in his room. His feet turned towards the door and started walking, and as he expected, there was a piece of paper weighted down in the center of his bed, which he picked up and began reading.  
  
When he was through, he was in the foul mood called despair. There was only one last thing to do: call Lizzie.  
  
-----------  
  
Lizzie was guzzling a soda, sitting on her soft, fancy-looking bed in her big and colorful room filled to the rim with posters, shelves lined with her favorite books and movies, and an alabaster statue in one corner. Her television was a sixteen-inch widescreen with Dolby surround sound, and she had satellite, as well as a combination VCR and DVD Player, the most expensive one her family could buy. As she guzzled the soda and watched some mediocre sitcom, she picked up the ringing phone. "Yes?" She answered in a tone of pure disinterest, as if she felt that whoever was calling was some insect whom was doing naught but wasting her valuable time.  
  
"Lizzie, it's me."  
  
Instantly, her expression became less sour but no less cold. "Nigey!" She answered. "Hey, I was just about to come over there!"  
  
"Lizzie... we can't go on any more dates for awhile."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I'm out of money. I can't pay for anything. I've used up all my monthly allowance and... today I got a notice from the Higher-ups saying that my Charge Card privelages have been revoked."  
  
"Really? Wow. Why is that?"  
  
"They say it's because I'm abusing the privelage, using the charge card more for my personal pleasure instead of for anything to do with the KND Organization. Their reports show that I've spent more than three percent of the KND's funds."  
  
"Only three percent? Like, how much is that?"  
  
"Umm, about twenty-five hundred dollars. I have no idea how I spent that much, but--"  
  
"Geez, they're penny-pinchers, aren't they? Revoking your card just because of a measly few thousand dollars. You could re-imburse them in about three months."  
  
"Lizzie," he said, unmistakeably harsh, "Not all of us have families that make ten-thousand dollars a month."  
  
"Poor you. Geez, just get a job Nigel. This kind of stuff is nothing."  
  
Nigel sighed. "Lizzie, how can I get a job? I'm only ten."  
  
"Mow lawns or something."  
  
"That won't get me that much in three months--"  
  
"Look, I'm not going to argue with you. I've told you what to do. And heck, I'm not going to pay your debts. You soak in your own dishwashing liquid."  
  
"I never asked for hand-outs!"  
  
And then there was silence as Lizzie gawked, her hand still holding the phone.  
  
Then Nigel began to feel guilt, and said "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burst out like that!"  
  
And this helped bring Lizzie back to herself, and she yelled into the phone "Don't you ever talk that way to me again!"  
  
"I'm sorry!"  
  
Lizzie sighed, not bothering to say wether or not she had accepted his apology. "Look, I'm kinda busy right now, so can I talk to ya later?"  
  
"Sure. Talk to ya later Lizzie. Bye."  
  
"Bye." With that, she hung up and layed her head back on a pillow. Turning on her side, her eyes fell upon the stuffed monkey thing Nigel had won for her (or so her version of events went). Picking it up, she examined it... and after deciding it was "tacky" she chunked it into a nearby wastebasket.  
  
------------  
  
Nigel was depressed enough, Lizzie's rejection and general attitude had not helped. As he hung up the phone, a terrifying thought crossed his mind. Maybe she doesn't love me anymore... maybe I've become just too weak, too stupid, too.. dorky. He clasped his face in his hands and leaned foreward. Dear God, what did I do wrong? Yet somehow, Nigel's own emotions confused him. He was sad, he was upset... yet at the same time, he felt like a great weight had been lifted off of him.  
  
Lizzie was right though, he needed a job. It was either that or spend his monthly allowances re-imbursing the KND's account... of course, he didn't have to do it. The note never said he had depts which need to be repayed., just that he wasn't allowed to use the KND Account anymore. But his conscience one out. The allegation was true--he had used the money for personal benefits, not for the organization like he should have done. And besides, maybe paying them back would get him back the use of the KND Account, which the group would need as a resource.  
  
But what could he do? He looked out a window, glancing over the outside world. As far as he could see, no lawns needed mowing, houses painting, babies sitting... perhaps a closer inspection would reveal something more, but he just didn't feel like it right now as he lied down on the sofa, and closed his eyes.  
  
------------  
  
Lizzie was on the floor, a bloody mark across her face, being held by one of her hands. She was in total shock as she rubbed the spot, and looked at her hand, seeing her own blood. Nigel, why? She mouthed, looking up at him with pitiful eyes.  
  
And Nigel examined his own fist, bringing it closer to his eyes, and he could clearly see blood here, too. It made him wince, moreso knowing that it had been he who had struck her. Her, his one true love. He had forgotten why he had struck her as he knelt down and held her in his arms. Lizzie, I'm so sorry! He told her right back. Will you ever forgive me?  
  
You're pathetic!  
  
Nigel heard the exclamation, and looked behind him. There were Numbuhs Two, Four, and Five, looking down on him as if he was nothing more than some trash dragged out of the street.  
  
You're pathetic! Came Numbuh Five, re-iterating her earlier words. You still clingin' to this girl like a lovesick puppy, even after she murdered Numbuh Three!  
  
What? Nigel couldn't believe his ears, his thoughts, but nevertheless he felt compelled to look to his left, where Numbuh Three was lying, dead of a gunshot wound, blood spreading all over the floor... and his gaze trailed the blood, his stomach becoming weaker, and finally unable to hold out any longer as a trail of blood came to rest on the weapon which had committed the crime... and a gaze along the barrel eventually revealed the criminal responsible. Lizzie's hand was on the trigger.  
  
And then Nigel felt a kick on his back, and then another one, and another as he heard angered voices, yelling You don't deserve to be our leader! and We used to think you were coo', Numbuh One. You're nothing but a pansy, Numbuh One, just a plaything for Kissy Lizzie to use as she sees fit. One day she's going to kill you just like she killed Numbuh Three. But you knew that, didn't you? You knew it the whole time and still you obey her like a trained lapdog...  
  
YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE CALLED A HUMAN BEING!  
  
------------  
  
Nigel awoke, gasping for air. Then he widened his eyes, and looked around.  
  
Empty. Not a soul. He looked at the floor. There was no blood. He looked at his hands. They were clean. He smelled the air. No scent of blood or smoke...  
  
He layed back with a relieved sigh. It had been a dream. Just a dream.  
  
He sat up, and wondered how much time had passed as he got up and searched out a clock, and finally remembered he was wearing a watch. Two hours. He felt like he hadn't slept at all. He sat down once more, and it nagged on him. He had wasted so much time, just sleeping, standing up, sitting back down again, doing nothing constructive. He needed to do something. He needed to get his mnd off things.  
  
But his mind could only think about his dream, and Numbuh Three's body...  
  
Numbuh Three! He wondered if she had recovered or gotten worse. He wondered if Numbuh Five had contacted him while he was asleep, and acting upon this, he activated his communications device.  
  
The click once more sounded, and a voice, after a few moments, said in whisper "Numbuh Five here. What's up?"  
  
"How's Numbuh Three doing?"  
  
"Man, where are you? She passed out again! Doctors think it's serious but they can't identify it. She's callin' for you again... and there's somethin' else."  
  
And at this, fear gripped his heart, he suddenly found it hard to talk, hard to think. "What? Tell me everything!"  
  
"Well, this part's kinda weird. She calls for you, but every once in awhile she keeps screamin' 'She's gonna kill 'im'." Abby listened to the silence, then added "Just thought you'd like to know."  
  
Nigel didn't quite know what to say, and the next words out of his mouth were thoughtless. "Abby, do you believe in coincidence?"  
  
"Sometimes. Why?"  
  
"Well... it's just that... I find it odd that Kuki says that. You see I had a dream just now--"  
  
"Sorry to cut ya off man but Kuki's having another hectic period, I'll have to get back to ya. Oh, and I forgot to tell ya, we're at the Jefferson Fairview Hospital."  
  
"Jefferson Fairview, got it. I'll be there."  
  
And with that, both sides closed the connection as Nigel sighed. Things just went from bad to worse. He wished he could do something, right then, right there. But what? I can't even stand up to my girlfriend.  
  
And with that, he screamed. "Dear God, I am pathetic! I am a disgrace! I don't deserve to be called a human being! If only there was something..." with that he sulked into his room in a midst of anguish. Slumping onto his bed, he looked around.  
  
And his eyes fell on some construction paper, sparking an idea into his head--one of the few lights that glowed in that darkened area, which shone into his heart. A smile crossed his face as an idea crossed his mind and he crossed his room until he ran across a pair of scissors, and then he sat down at a table.  
  
The snipping began, then the folding and the taping. For a moment, Nigel wondered if he should artificially scent them, but he decided against it, since given how little he knew about sicknesses and stuff he might've ended up somehow making her condition worse. He had made half a dozen, which to him was adequate. Wrapping them together with a brown paper, he almost got up, but then made one last decision. He took out a pencil and wrote "Get well soon, Kuki!" On one of the petals, writing his own name on the other side of that same petal.  
  
Then he was out of his chair, admiring his creation. This was much more pleasant than that abominable monkey he had wasted a dollar trying to win. Much, much more pleasant. Even better, this was something he had hand-crafted, not some mass-produced artifact of capitalism! It may not cure her, but as least she knew he cared.  
  
That thought made his heart rise. Suddenly it was if all the gloom of the last few minutes was gone, as he exited his room, ready to face the world outside.  
  
Unfortunately, when he opened the front door to his treehouse, the only thing he faced was Lizzie, and he stumbled back in shock.  
  
"Hey!" She explained, "I just came over to visit. You sounded kinda upset on the phone and--oh! Are those for me?!" She asked excitedly as she grabbed the paper flowers from Nigel's hand. "Oooo! These are pretty!" She sniffed them, only to have her face graced with a look of underwhelming. "You didn't scent them?"  
  
"I... uhhhh..."  
  
Lizzie looked them over with admiration... and then a hint of displeasure as her eyes fell on something. Get well soon, Kuki?! She held the petal in her hand, feeling the anger well up. She had been mistaken... these weren't for her after all. They were that sick friend of Nigel's! I must seem like such a fool! She thought... before a grin crossed her face. Of course, I could always just erase my mistake...  
  
"Hmmm, I wonder," Lizzie said as she, much to Nigel's dismay, pulled off a paper petal, and dropped it on the floor. And Nigel gasped, his heart caught, as Lizzie pulled off another petal, saying "He loves me not... he loves me... he loves me not..."  
  
And as she pulled them, he watched them fall. His creations, his present which he had put his heart into, meant for a sick friend, being destroyed right before his very eyes! As if he could somehow preserve them, he knelt down and began picking up the petals, grasping them... until his eyes fell on one with his name on the back. No, she didn't... he turned it over.  
  
Get well soon, Kuki!  
  
And something inside Nigel snapped then. His dream came flooding back to him, and once more he saw Lizzie holding the gun, saw the trail of blood, and felt his fellow operatives giving him the beating of his life as he looked at Kuki's lifeless body.  
  
She's not dead, Nigel.  
  
Nigel went through the events of the day. Lizzie had forced him to walk her home, causing him to pass up a ride to the hospital. Now he knew where they were, he could walk. Lizzie had also confiscated the stuffed animal... the one he had won for Kuki! She had forced him to...  
  
Finally it clicked. Nigel never ate much or bought much, but Lizzie had always bought exhorbitant amounts of food or toys or whatnot on their little outings! Finally, it all made sense. Why hadn't he seen it before? He had been looking at himself as the culprit, or blaming it on the economy or some other scapegoat. But now the truth was plain... Lizzie was the reason he had used up his allowance and gotten banned from using his charge card!  
  
He began to realize more. Abby...  
  
"Abby was right!" Nigel exclaimed, causing the pigtailed redhead to stair up at him in shock. "You dominated me, you controlled me... you even had a sneaky little way of making me blame myself for your mistakes!"  
  
Her angered expression was obvious as she demanded "What did I tell you about speaking to me in that tone?"  
  
"Oh be quiet, you fat, pompous @#$%@!"  
  
At that, she was so caught off-guard that she dropped the bouquet, which Nigel deftly caught. "Here," he said, pulling out the one Lizzie had almost completely destroyed. "You can keep this one, it's ruined--just like my life almost was because of you!"  
  
As he placed it in her hand, she grabbed and chunked it, demanding "Nigel Uno, what is the meaning of this?"  
  
"As if you don't know! I'm tired of you, your holier-than-thou attitude, your entire sense of 'I can do no wrong because I'm a rich little daddy's girl who'se never had a spanking in her whole entire life and is so spoiled that the amount of nachos I'm allowed to eat shows up on the scale'!"  
  
Her mouth widened. This was awful, this was wrong. How could Nigel be saying these things to her? She thought.. she thought they had something! I mean sure for awhile I thought he was a dork, but...  
  
"You're a total psychopath! You lash out at people for looking at you cross-eyed! You even strike your own boyfriend. You degrade me, look down upon me... our entire relationship was nothing more than you trying to make me feel like my existence was worthless! But that's not the worst of it--you try to block me from my friends, friends who at this moment really need me, all because you need someone you can feel superior to! My friends were right, you are the dictionary definition of abusive! You weren't a healthy relationship I needed to maintain, you were a drug addiction I needed to break!"  
  
With that, Nigel walked past her, and out the door. As he approached the ladder, he turned, shut and locked the door, and said "One of these days, your behavior and general attitude is going to get you killed... or one of your unlucky victims. I hope you weren't planning on me being around to take the fall for you, because I won't be. And by the way, I don't ever want to see you in my yard again. Do you understand?!" He did not even bother to wait for a response as he climbed down the ladder, and took off running, leaving Lizzie shattered and confused.  
  
--------------  
  
"Where's Numbuh One?" Kuki asked with increasing worry. Her friends were all around her, Abby on one side, the boys on the other. The doctors, feeling Kuki was, for the moment, stable, had left the room, though a nurse was standing outside just in case an emergency came up.  
  
"He'll be here soon," Abby reassured her. "Trust me, he's just bein' held up."  
  
"Yea," Wally whispered to Numbuh Two, "Probably by Kissy Lizzie."  
  
Numbuh Three's keen ears overheard this comment, and she looked towards the two boys. The worry was evident on her face. Soon, a hidden implication of their words which only Kuki was aware of crossed her mind, and tears streamed down her face. She began to cry.  
  
"Kuki!" Abby grabbed her. "What's wrong?"  
  
"She's gonna kill him." Kuki sobbed. "Abby... every time I go to sleep I dream about it. She's going to. I know she is. Maybe she has already and that's why he hasn't shown up..."  
  
"Kuki, that's just a dream! I talked to Nigel a few minutes ago, he'll be here!"  
  
Kuki tried to force a smile, but it didn't work. Her heart and mind, logic being weakened by delirium, succumbed to a baseless despair. "Thanks for trying, Abby. But I know he's dead. He would've showed up by now if..." Kuki became silent, not wanting to speak her thoughts any further, and she continued crying.  
  
But all tears stopped and all faces turned as the door opened and closed with a creak and a moan, and two shoed feet stepped foreward, and a British hand offered a bouquet of flowers made from paper.  
  
"I hope your feeling better," was the first thing that Nigel said.  
  
--------------  
  
Her heart shattered, her mind confused, and her body feeling like an empty shell. Lizzie walked home, a complete and utter wreck. She didn't understand! Had she not said she was going to see how well Nigel was doing? Well, granted she had also thought about asking him to take her to see Happy Place 4 again. He had, after all, forced them to leave the morning showing thirty minutes early. Just like he had forced them to leave the skating rink after being there for only five minutes, just because he remembered he couldn't skate. And now he lashed out at her, saying she had degraded and insulted him, unjustifiably assaulting his friends (That was untrue, they had made snide remarks about her) and keeping him from seeing someone who was more important!  
  
He had called her an abusive psychopath, he had even insulted her weight! But this was not what bothered her the most.  
  
What bothered her the most was that he had dumped her.  
  
No, not even that. There was something about the things he said. That she was spoiled because she was rich, that she generally believed she could do anything she wanted, that she needed someone to feel superior to... No way... it couldn't possibly be true, could it?  
  
Of course not!  
  
Lizzie took only five minutes to realize this, once she had reached her bedroom and looked around. It wasn't her that was abusive... it was him! Why, since day one he had always tried to make her feel guilty! She knew he wanted that date and would've gone out with her even if she hadn't used the boyfriend helmet, and is there any proof those things even work anyway? But he had dated her several times of his own free will since then. Granted the first seventeen or so times he had begged and even twisted her arm (or was it the other way around? Nah..) but afterwards they would always immediately agree on the time and place... even if he would always forget.  
  
There was no way Lizzie could be so bad! She was young, intelligent, beautiful (by certain standards). No, it was obvious. Lizzie was in the moral right. She was always in the moral right because that was how she had been brought up, knowing right from wrong. Unlike her ex-boyfriend Nigel Uno. He was the abusive one, the degrader, the violent maniac!  
  
He found you out.  
  
And all was silence as Lizzie listened to this voice from the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind.  
  
He found you out. You couldn't keep it up forever. Just think... soon the entire world will know what kind of person you really are!  
  
But I'm a good girl!  
  
Not anymore, you little fibber you... of course, you could always erase your mistake. It would be justified, wouldn't it? After all, if he's the abusive psychopath... why, you may even be doing your community a favor...  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
-------Part Three notes  
  
I felt I should mention an edit I've made recently... originally Nigel's debt was twenty-five thousand dollars, but here I changed it to what I percieve as a more realistic amount: twenty-five hundred (or two-thousand five-hundred). The fact that he's in debt may be a plot point in a later story, but don't hold your breath. 


	4. Conflict, the Broken

-------Part Four: Conflict, the Broken  
  
"Your little friend was quite an odd case," said Dr. Yubi Sik, who despite the lack of a turban was obviously of Egyptian descent. "When she kept lapsing, we feared some sort of virus, but.. now I have reason to believe most of her condition may have been psychosematic."  
  
Hoagie scratched his head. "Psycho-what?"  
  
"It means that her thoughts and feelin's were causing her to get worse."  
  
"Wow, is that possible?"  
  
"Many doctors believe it is." Yubi Sik continued. "In your friend's case, during her fever she must have encountered a delirium, during which time she concocted this fantasy about her best friend being murdered by some girl. In her delirious state, she did not realize that it was merely a fantasy and began to be concerned, which resulted in the physical effects you have all witnessed. More to the point, note that when she had her friend right by her side, her temperature dropped and her health became stable after a mere ten minutes."  
  
"Does this mean she can go home?" Kuki's mom asked.  
  
"Yes." Abby's mom answered. "Feel free to call us if she shows any more symptoms, however."  
  
"All right. Thank you."  
  
Both the doctors merely nodded in response, and Kuki's mom left, carrying her daughter. Her friends soon followed her down the hall and out the door, where Kuki's mom placed her daughter on the ground as she went around and activated the car.  
  
"We'll come out and visit you later today." Nigel promised her. "I've just got a few last things to deal with at home... and I've got to gather up some more Star Trek movies." With that last one, the two smiled at each other, and then Kuki hugged him. This time he had expected it, and he hugged her back. Then it was time to go, and she got into the passenger seat of her mom's car waving goodbye to her friends.  
  
And when the car rounded the bend, Wallabee kicked a wall, and the others looked at him in concern.  
  
"Is something wrong, Numbuh Four?" Nigel asked.  
  
"Yea! She could care less that I was there, but when she sees you she get's bettah instantly!" He put his hands in his pockets and looked downward with the expression of having been clearly miffed. And then he smiled a bit. "I didn't think ya had it in ya to cheat on Lizzie."  
  
And then Nigel sighed. "Me and Numbuh Three don't have that kind of a relationship. She's still available. Anyway even if she wasn't, I'm not cheating on Lizzie anymore."  
  
And then Wallabee and the others looked at him. "W-whaddya mean?"  
  
"I mean I told Lizzie off. If she still wants to date me after the tongue-lashing I gave her, she's crazy."  
  
And everyone smiled, and even cheered him on as they patted his back victoriously. "Wow Numbuh One," Hoagie answered, "I never knew you had it in ya!"  
  
"Oh come on, you guys wouldn't doubt your leader, would you?" Nigel smiled at his humorous statement. For the first time since before he had met Lizzie, his heart felt like pure gold again.  
  
-------------  
  
"This is what I wanted to point out to you guys," Nigel informed them when the team (with only Kuki absent) returned to headquarters and he showed them the note from KND High Command. "Due to my stupidity, I'm not allowed to put things on the KND Account anymore. And as you all know, the leaders are the only ones who have access to the charge cards."  
  
"That means we can't buy the stuff we need to build more Two-by-Four technology weapons." Wallabee acknowledged. "We'll have to make due with what we have."  
  
"Yes. In the meantime I'll be trying to pay back the amount I spent. Perhaps if I do, they'll reconsider and let me use the card once more."  
  
And then Nigel felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Abby smiling down at him as she said "We're behind ya all the way, Numbuh One."  
  
And Nigel's heart felt even warmer... until suddenly, the front door of the treehouse kicked open, and a shot was fired. Nigel watched in shock as he heard Abby moan in pain, and turned his head to see that a bullet had scraped a piece of her shoulder. Then he turned back to the door.  
  
Fortunately for him, this was the first time Lizzie had ever used a gun, and her aim was terrible. Nevertheless, Numbuh One knew it was he she was aiming at, and got off the sofa, running to the other side of the room, managing to miss a meeting with a few more bullets as he yelled "Lizzie, have you gone insane?!"  
  
"Be quiet! You had no right to say those things about me!" She answered him, firing a shot, "You were the worst boyfriend I ever had, Nigel! You treated me like garbage, you used me for my money!" Another shot, "You made my life miserable!"  
  
"I think you've got that story in reverse!" He continued running, "But it figures that you would resort to outright denial!" with that, he ducked into the kitchen, hiding beside the doorway. "You're not only a drug, you're evil in the purest sense of the word!"  
  
"Go on, Nigey. After you're dead," he could hear her slowly approaching, "I'll just tell everyone that you abused and used me. They'll believe I was a victim. And as we all know, the truth doesn't mean jack if people don't believe it!"  
  
Nigel didn't bother to mention that he had three witnesses in his favor, but as he ducked under the table, it concerned his mind. He had another vision just then, of him being shot dead, and of the bloody remains of his friends in the main room, and his mom and dad, leaving Kuki to come by sometime later and discover the slaughter...  
  
Kuki... She just got out of the hospital, there's no way I'm going to let Lizzie put her through this!  
  
And when he saw Lizzie's feet looking around the kitchen, he knew what he had to do. Quickly he moved out behind her, and as he got up he lifted a chair, and swung it across her face. The sudden impact caue her to accidentally pull the trigger, destroying a part of the pancake pan Abby had used to cook that morning, but then Nigel dropped the chair and readied his fist, reeling back, and sending her sprawling to the floor harder than she had done to him at the theatre. As she fell, the gun dropped out of her hands, and Nigel slowly bent to attain it.  
  
As Lizzie layed there, holding her face and sobbing with pain, she asked "Nigey, why?"  
  
Nigel wasn't going to face the sweet and innocent act. That was over. This time he had to make it loud and he had to make it clear. He aimed Lizzie's own gun at her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out right here and now."  
  
As she layed there, silent and in obvious fear, Nigel heard the scruffling feet of his friends and operatives scramble into the room, but they stood back, seeing the drama being acted out. Each of them wanted to say something, but didn't know what they should say. They all, besides that, wanted to know what Nigel was going to do.  
  
Nigel's decision really came as no surprise. Continuing to aim the gun at Lizzie, he ordered her "Get out of here or I'm calling the police."  
  
And then Lizzie stood, fear still apparent in her tear-dripped eyes... and something else. A longing? A guilt? It didn't matter, for within seconds, she was running back home... or, in her mind, as far away from this place as she could get!  
  
For the rest of her days, she would always tell people that Nigel had been a bad boyfriend. But the truth always ate at her--the truth that she had done wrong, been found out, and that the proof of her wrongs was still out there. What's worse, he had broken her control and even, for a short time, controlled her! She had become so mentally scarred, that she would fly into a rage any time someone mentioned Kung Fu movies or Star Trek. And more continued to be added on to this, as more boyfriends came and went, leaving her to imagine wrongs they had committed so she could go on believing she was a perfect little angel, an illusion which came apart when, after one blind rage too many, she finally had been committed to a mental institution.  
  
But that was about fifteen years into the future.  
  
--------------  
  
A week after Lizzie's attempt on the life of Nigel, he and Kuki Sanban were now at a local Hastings movie rental, though Nigel was unsure if he should be renting movies instead of buying parts for two-by-four technology, but he was doing it with money he had earned, not someone else's funding. "Now, let's see... I think Abby will like this one," Nigel stated. Kuki looked it over and agreed, then turned down the aisle, and stopped short. "Hey," she whispered, "Isn't that Lizzie?"  
  
Nigel looked. It was Lizzie, with a new boyfriend, someone he didn't recognize. For a moment, Nigel thought of running over there to warn this new victim in the making about what he was getting into... He also felt a pang of guilt, wishing that he had eliminated her and thus for all time stopped her from toying with the hearts of men.  
  
Yet, elsewhere he realized that Lizzie had somehow been important to him. Not as a love interest, of course, but rather as a life experience. Through her, he had learned how truly complex his feelings were, how one could think they were happy when really they were miserable, and that not all relationships are to end happily ever after. Maybe her new boy needs that experience as much as Nigel himself did.  
  
He grabbed Kuki's shoulder, and softly ordered "Pretend you don't see her."  
  
And Kuki, after a moment, nodded an affirmation. And the two began looking through the available movies once more.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
